Robot Cleaner Spin-Mop Path Overlap for Complete Floor Coverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robot cleaners that use spin-mops for mopping operations face challenges in maintaining a straight path due to varying frictional forces, leading to incomplete cleaning, especially near walls and obstacles, and conventional zigzag patterns often leave uncleaned regions.
Innovation Solution
A robot cleaner with two spin-mops that rotate in opposite directions and at different speeds, controlled by a controller to create a zigzag pattern, ensuring that one spin-mop's path overlaps the other's to cover the entire floor and prevent uncleaned regions, while also allowing for various travel motions and cleaning modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the robot cleaner uses spin-mops to travel autonomously, then cleaning capability is improved, but the robot cleaner cannot travel in a straight path due to varying frictional forces
Solution Approach 1:
The robot cleaner incorporates sensors to detect its position and orientation relative to the intended straight path. The control system continuously monitors the actual travel path and adjusts the rotation speeds of the spin-mops in real-time to compensate for deviations caused by varying frictional forces, enabling both straight path travel and effective cleaning
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the rotational speeds of the spin-mops based on detected friction variations and path deviations. By varying the rotation speeds adaptively rather than maintaining constant speeds, the robot can compensate for changing frictional conditions while maintaining both straight path accuracy and cleaning effectiveness
2Area of stationary object
If the robot cleaner uses conventional zigzag-pattern travel, then coverage area is improved, but uncleaned regions remain between the spin-mops
Solution Approach 1:
The robot cleaner employs asymmetric positioning of the spin-mops relative to the body centerline, or asymmetric rotation speeds, creating an offset cleaning pattern. This asymmetry ensures that the cleaning paths of the two spin-mops overlap in a way that eliminates uncleaned regions while maintaining efficient zigzag traversal coverage
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an additional control dimension by independently varying the rotation speeds of the spin-mops in addition to their rotational direction. This speed modulation creates overlapping cleaning trajectories that cover the central regions between the spin-mops, transforming the cleaning pattern from two separate paths to a continuous overlapping coverage area
3Manufacturing precision
If the robot cleaner sequentially rotates spin-mops to travel in S-shaped pattern, then straight path travel is improved, but travel speed and cleaning speed decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The robot cleaner maintains continuous rotation of both spin-mops during travel, eliminating the sequential activation pattern. Both spin-mops rotate simultaneously and continuously, providing continuous cleaning action while their combined friction forces propel the robot forward in a straight path, thereby maintaining both path accuracy and high travel speed
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables efficient and complete floor cleaning with reduced uncleaned regions, increased travel and cleaning speed, and the ability to perform both wet and dry cleaning effectively, maintaining a conventional intuitive travel motion.
Implementation Method 1
the rotary members are concurrently rotated on a floor surface while portions of the mops fixed to the rotary members are in contact with the floor surface to generate friction forces to move the robot cleaner
Implementation Method 2
A robot cleaner may suction foreign matter, such as dust, from the floor or may sweep away foreign matter on the floor while traveling autonomously
Data Source
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Figure 5
AI summary
A robot cleaner includes a cleaning module having a left spin-mop and a right spin-mop configured to contact a floor while rotating in a clockwise direction or in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from above. The robot cleaner also includes a controller that manages the cleaning module such that, when the robot cleaner travels in a zigzag pattern including a first travel, during which the robot cleaner travels straight in a first direction, and a second travel, during which the robot cleaner travels straight in a second direction, which is opposite the first direction, a movement trajectory of the left spin-mop or the right spin-mop during the second travel overlaps a movement trajectory of the left spin-mop and a movement trajectory of the right spin-mop during the first travel.